Karuna rules out truck with BJP, prefers Sonia

D Govardan, TNNMay 13, 2004, 12.28am IST

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu is back in the limelight, as it was in the past three general elections, with major political parties looking down south to get their numbers right to form a new government at the Centre. With exit poll predictions proving almost right in Andhra Pradesh state assembly polls, the focus is naturally on the Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA). Exit polls have predicted that DPA will bag a vast majority of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

The leaders of the seven-party DPA — comprising DMK, Congress, PMK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M) and IUML — held a crucial meeting on Wednesday at the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam. The meeting assumes importance as speculations are rife of BJP sending feelers to some of the DPA constituents to join its coalition in case of NDA falling short of a working majority.

DMK president M Karunanidhi, who addressed the media at the end of the meeting, maintained that the formation of a next government at the Centre was not discussed at the meeting. However, there were few takers for Mr Karunanidhi's claim. Mr Karunanidhi made it clear that DMK would not have any post-poll arrangement with the NDA. He also clarified that it would not participate in any government to be formed at the Centre this time.